Consultation: Review of Narcotic Drugs Act 1967

The Department of Health sought comments from interested parties on the terms of reference for the Review of the Narcotic Drugs Act 1967 (the ND Act):

1. The efficiency and effectiveness of the structure of the licensing and permit regimes and other restrictions in the Act in controlling the supply of narcotic drugs and options to reduce the regulatory burden on affected parties, whilst still achieving the object of the ND Act.
2. The efficiency and effectiveness of the obligations in the Act relating to the provision of information and other administrative requirements and options for reducing the regulatory burden on affected parties, whilst still achieving the object of the ND Act.
3. The appropriateness of the compliance and enforcement regime in the ND Act, including in relation to the Secretary's functions and powers.

The primary focus of the Review is on the regulatory framework for the cultivation, production and manufacture of medicinal cannabis under the ND Act. Interest parties can find further information, including in relation to key themes, specific issues and examples of matters that do not fall within the scope of the review in the Discussion paper.

Discussion paper released for consultation on Monday, 4 March 2019.

Submissions close at 5:00pm on Tuesday, 2 April 2019.

The Review is required to invite public submissions, to conduct targeted consultations with interested stakeholders and through public forums, and to consult the Australian Advisory Council on the Medicinal Use of Cannabis. Three public consultation forums have been held:

• Sydney - 5 February 2019
• Brisbane - 6 February 2019
• Melbourne - 8 February 2019.

The public forums enabled interested parties to raise issues that could be considered in the review.

The Discussion Paper and invitation for written submissions continues the public consultation.

Submissions may address any, or all, of the terms of reference identified above or the key themes and/or specific issues identified in the Discussion Paper.

The Review is particularly interested in hearing about your practical engagement with the medicinal cannabis scheme in the ND Act. We welcome examples and case studies of issues you have encountered. Concrete proposals for legislative and administrative reform are also invited.

If you are unsure whether a topic or issue fits within the Terms of Reference, the Review invites you to email the Review Secretariat at ReviewNarcoticDrugsAct@health.gov.au, or call us on 1800 020 653, seeking clarification. The Secretariat will endeavour to respond as soon as possible.

Any questions relating to submissions should be directed to the Review Secretariat by email to ReviewNarcoticDrugsAct@health.gov.au or by telephone to 1800 020 653.

All submissions will be placed on this website unless marked confidential or indicated otherwise in the submission form (see Privacy information).

The final report in the Review is to be tabled in both Houses of Parliament by 29 October 2019.

All submissions will be placed on this website unless marked confidential or indicated otherwise in the submission form. Please note that the Review collects your personal information in this submission in order to:

• contact you if the Review wants to seek clarification of issues raised in your submission or to check whether you consent to certain information that you have provided being made publicly available;
• help provide context about your submission (e.g. to determine whether you are an individual or a director of a company or representing an interest group); and/or
• Seek feedback about how the consultation was undertaken.

Please do not include personal information about other individuals in the body of your submission. The Review notes that personal information in this context means information or an opinion about an individual whose identity is apparent, or can reasonably be ascertained, from the information or opinion.

More information on privacy can be found on our website.

On 4 March 2029, Professor John McMillan AO, who has been appointed to conduct an independent review of the Narcotic Drugs Act 1967, published a Discussion Paper inviting written submissions from interested parties by 2 April 2019. This date ensured that consultation period ended and all submissions were received prior to the 2019 Federal election being called.

Professor McMillan thanks those individuals and organisations for their valuable feedback.

In total, 25 submissions and other comments were received in response to the invitation to comment.

All submissions that were not marked as confidential are now available in PDF format.

• Consultation submission: Anonymous 1
• Consultation submission: Anonymous 2
• Consultation submission: Country Women's Association of Australia
• Consultation submission: Country Women's Association of NSW
• Consultation submission: Robert Craib
• Consultation submission: Cyrelian Pty Ltd
• Consultation submission: Delta Tetra Group Pty Ltd
• Consultation submission: Dr Romy Feldman
• Consultation submission: Lambert Initiative for Cannabinoid Therapeutics, The University of Sydney
• Consultation submission: LeafCann Group Pty Ltd
• Consultation submission: Medical Cannabis Council Inc
• Consultation submission: Medicinal Cannabis Industry Australia
• Consultation submission: Medigrowers
• MedReleaf Australia
• Mills Oakley
• Source Certain International Pty Ltd
• Consultation submission: Tasmanian Alkaloids Pty Ltd
• Consultation submission: TheraCann International
• Consultation submission: Tilray Australia & New Zealand
• Consultation submission: United in Compassion

View submissions